Christian Fantasy Author

Writing Tracking Scenes: Happens More Often than One Expects, by Charles Yallowitz

Ironically enough, just yesterday I was working out my outline for a chapter in which one character is tracking another. This article brings up some good points as to how to effectively handle this sometimes tedious task, and also how to keep it interesting for readers.

We’ve all been there. Stalking an enemy until we find the perfect chance to strike or discover their hideout. Then the author falls asleep or gets bored and throws the entire scene into chaos.

Having one character follow another can be tedious, especially if it lasts for a chapter. I’ve seen it done different ways too. Some authors only have villains do tracking, so it’s in the background. Others have the trackers so far away that they can talk and the physical act is secondary. Then there’s avoiding such scenes entirely. I like having some tracking scenes since Luke is a forest tracker. Pointless to give him the skills and never have him use them. I tend to fall into that second category, but there are ways to make it interesting…